10 Oct Child Protection- A Shared Responsibility (Part I)

The most recent national figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] indicate that during 2015-16, there were 225,487 Australian children suspected of being harmed or at risk of harm from abuse and/or neglect. This resulted in 355,925 notifications being issued by state and territory authorities (a rate of 42.0 notifications per 1,000 Australian children). The total number of notifications represents an increase of 11.2% from the 320,169 reports made in the previous year.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_4″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]In your role as an educator you have a Duty of Care. Duty of Care is a common law concept that refers to the responsibility of staff to provide children with an adequate level of protection against harm. It is usually expressed as a duty to take reasonable care to protect children from all reasonably foreseeable risk of injury. Caring for a child can be fun and rewarding, but it can also be stressful and is not always easy. Abuse can affect a child for the rest of their life. If you suspect that a child has been abused it is better to report it, even if you are not sure, rather than do nothing.

There are four different types of child abuse that lead to harm

Effective protection of children relies on community members reporting their concerns for a child. This needs to occur in a timely way to prevent concerns becoming more serious and the child being harmed. Some common concerns around notification/ reporting may be

• A sense of disbelief and divided loyalties between parent and child.
• Fear that the child will be labelled.
• Concern about impact of the Educator’s relationship with the parent.
• Fear of having to go to court or fear litigation.
• Fear that the parent will know that the allegations were made by the Educator.
• Not wanting ‘to get involved’.
• Concern that the welfare authorities will be ‘heavy-handed’ and act inappropriately.
• An ethical dilemma – should I tell the family about the intent to notify.